Johnathan McKinstry: I love brown ugali, fish

Gor Mahia coach Johnathan McKinstry says he has settled well in Kenya for the last eight months and has fallen in love with brown ugali and fish.

The tactician has also likened Nairobi to London in England, saying it is a big city compared  to Accra, Free Town, Kigali, Kampala and other cities where he has lived and visited in Africa. 

"I try everything people offer me and never turn anything away. I quite like your brown ugali because I have never had it before. However, I haven't tried Kenyan matoke because in my head, I thought it is the same with Ugandan One. Now that I know it is different, I will give it a try,. The fish is just the same to Ugandan One," said McKinstry.

He was speaking in Monday night's NTV live sports show, Sport On! hosted by journalists James Wokabi and Bernard Ndong'.

"I have not seen a lot of Kenya rather than the hotel and buses since I have a game after every three days. I find Nairobi as a city interesting and so bigger than Accra, Free Town, Kigali and Kampala. Nairobi is more like London in that it is so distinct and I'm happy  you have a big forest in the middle of the city. You will always find me walking near Karura Forest with my dog and a river around," said McKinstry.

The former Ugandan Cranes coach took prestige in nurturing talented young players in K'Ogalo which is still serving a Fifa ban, leading to the elevation of many players from its youth team to the senior squad.

He singled out striker Benson Omala,21, and defender Joshua Onyango,19, saying they could turn out to be some of best players in the country if well nurtured.

While Omala leads the Golden Boot chase with 19 Goals, Onyango has featured in the all Gor's 19 matches this season.

"Omala works hard in training, is humble and has no ego. He is talented and a natural finisher. However, he has just achieved 60 percent of his talent and can reach his full potential as long as he is supported and surrounded with the right people," said McKinstry.

"Joshua has played every single minute this season. Last season he was criticised for mistakes, but he has done better."

McKinistry also promised Gor Mahia fans that he will lead the club to reclaim their league title they lost to Tusker.

To achieve this, he says the have to have an almost 100 percent winning rate over the teams in the bottom half of the table.

Gor lead the Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) standing on 41 points, five more than KCB with 15 matches to the end of the season.

McKinstry, 37, has coached in Uganda, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. He won the 2019 Cecafa Cup with Uganda Cranes and was the 2015 Cecafa Coach of the tournament, while with the Rwandese side.

He also served as Sierra Leone national team coach from April 2013 to September 2014. He says he has overseen 55 national team matches and won about 30 of them.

He also waded into the match-fixing debate, calling for stiffer punishment for culprits, but also thorough investigations to avoid players being punished unfairly.

"For me football is a privilege and if it is abused you should not be given a second chance. It should also not be one or two-year ban, but the punishment should be severe and stiffer," he said.

"However, we have to make sure there is enough evidence, information is proven and investigation is robust. There are instances where people have been accused and punished yet there is no evidence."

On Tuesday, two foreigners and a Kenyan, who were arrested last week on claims of planning to influence the outcome of the FKF-PL match between Sofapaka and Nairobi City Stars, were arraigned at the Makadara Law Court.

The trio were released on a Sh300,000 bond. 

[email protected]